Winter Concert - DATE CORRECTION!

Please excuse the typo from my previous post...

The Winter Concert will be December 18th @9:00-10:00 (not 12.19.12) in the gymnasium.  Mark your calendars...looking forward to seeing you there!

Winter Concert/Lost and Found

Winter All-School Concert

Thursday, December 18, 2012

MMES Gymnasium

9:00-10:00

Please no early birds...carpooling is much appreciated!

Be sure to check out the lost and found...unclaimed items will be donated to charity after the show!

Anything look familiar? ...lots of nice coats, sweatshirts, hats, etc.

Recycle and Suport the Grade 5 Trip to Camp Merrowvista!

Grade 3 and 4 Mathematics Team!

I am happy to report to you that MMES now has a Grade 3 and 4 Mathematics Team.  The team is comprised of 30 talented mathematicians with a waiting list!  Our scholars recently participated in their first performance task, and we are anxiously awaiting the official results.  I know of at least one student who had a perfect score so our hopes are high for the team!  Thank you to Coach Blanchette for organizing this great opportunity for our students...go team!

Mathematics Competition - Forwarded Notice

As you know, we are piloting a mathematics team as an after-school club for grades 3 and 4 this year.  They had a great first practice last night with well over 20 team members!  In addition, I received the following email from a professor at Bridgewater State University this week.  As this reaches out to students in grades 1-5, I thought I would pass it on if it is of interest to your family.  

"The Mathematics Department at Bridgewater State University is excited to announce our first year of hosting the International Math Kangaroo, a low stress mathematics competition for students in grades 1 – 12. All students are welcome! The competition this year will take place at 6pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013. We will provide a safe and comfortable site for the students and their parents for the time of the competition.

We encourage parents to register Manchester Memorial Elementary students for this fun event. Included in a $20 registration fee is a toy and certificate of completion on the day of the competition. State winners receive special awards in the spring.

We look forward to seeing your students in Bridgewater in March. If Bridgewater is a little too far, there are many other centers in Massachusetts which might be more convenient. For more information and to register (before December 15), please go to:http://www.mathkangaroo.org.

Thanks for your help in opening the students’ eyes to the beauty and fun of mathematics! I would be glad to answer any questions that you may have about this event.

Sincerely,

Dr. Polina Sabinin

Department of Mathematics

Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics

Bridgewater State University

Conant Building, Room 353

Bridgewater, MA 02325

Phone: 508-531-2204

Let me know if you decide to have your child participate...I'd be interested in hearing about it!

John J. Willis

Principal

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we all settle into the holiday season and spend much deserved time with our families, I wanted to take a second to let my Memorial School Family know how much I appreciate all of you!  This is a very special building filled with amazing children, dedicated and talented staff, and parents who are always there for us!  I thank all of my staff and all of the parents for their support over the past year and a half.  We have come a long way and could not do it without all of you!

Enjoy the time with your families...looking forward to everyone returning rejuvenated and ready for a great winter season!

MMES GRADE 3 and 4 Math Team

Math Team!

Led by Coach Blanchette (grade 3 teacher)

This team is for students who really enjoy math and like a challenge.  This year we will be working with Perennial Math, which provides an online mathematical competition.  The competition consists of four assessments that stimulate enthusiasm for problem solving and may serve as math enrichment.

Perennial Math offers…

• Cool awards and virtual recognition
• Monthly competition (November – February)
• Instant scoring and feedback for students
• Practice questions

Who: 3^rd and 4^th graders
When: Mondays from 3:00-3:45 (1^st Team Practice Nov. 26^th…schedule to follow)
Where to Meet: Mrs. Blanchette’s Classroom (Room # 21)
Cost:  FREE (funded by MERSD)
Maximum # of Students: 30 (first come, first serve)

Practices and assessments will end promptly at 3:45.  Students may also need to practice at home in between sessions.  Students need to be picked up by car (no walking home).  Pick up will be at the front of the building.

If your child is interested, please email the information requested below to blanchetteh@mersd.org .  Deadline to register is Friday November 23, 2012.

Child’s Name: _____________________
Grade Level: _______

Parent/Guardian Name: _____________________
Parent/Guardian Contact Phone #: ____________________
Parent/Guardian Email Address: ______________________

MMES Mock Election Results are IN!

And the winner is....

In our MMES Mock Election, the following candidates rose above the rest!  Thank you to Samantha Silag and her crew for pulling together a great election!  It was priceless to see the kindergarten students on step stools voting in the official voting booths on loan from Town Hall!

Cartoon Character of the Year:

Sponge Bob beat Dora the Explorer!

Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney!

Enjoy the weekend...

Inspirational...This will make your day! It made mine...

I promise you that taking time out of your day to read the following article will truly make your day!  It took me a grand total of 4 minutes to read, and it is the best thing I have read in a long time.

My wife and I often wonder and search for what we can do as parents to raise children just like this young man.  We try different approaches and techniques with the hope that one day our children will grow up to be young adults who have the heart to "do what is right even when nobody is looking."  Modeling, open communication, and informal lessons that we teach our son and daughter every day are what we believe make the difference.  The road is not easy.  If we all "stay the course" there will be more people in the world like the young man in this article

As a parent and educator, I wanted to share this story with you.  Forgive me if you have already read it...

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8579599/chy-johnson-boys

Lillian Muise - Award Winning Head Cook!

Lillian Muise is the head cook in our cafeteria.  She is responsible for ensuring that our students are offered nutritious and appealing meals at lunchtime.  Recently, she was awarded the "Heart of the Program Award" for Massachusetts and the Northeast Region!

From Sheila Parisian (Director of Food Services):

On October 23, 2012, at the School Nutrition Association of Mass Annual Conference, Manchester Memorial Head Cook  Lillian Muise was recognized with the Heart of the Program Award.  The award recognizes an outstanding school nutrition employee who exhibits an  extroadinary commitment to the nutrition program. The award weighs heavily on customer service, participation in professional growth training, cooperation, work attendance, and the willingness to go the extra mile. Lillian not only was recognized as the Massachusetts winner, but she moved on and was  recognized as the Heart of the Program Winner for the Northeast which includes the New England States, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  Congratulations Lillian!  We are fortunate to have you on our team!

Rock the Vote!

Memorial SCHOOL

will

ROCK THE VOTE

Friday, Nov. 2^nd

Students may Wear

Red, White & Blue

To show their patriotic Spirit!

Spaghetti Supper!

Back by popular demand...Memorial School's Spaghetti Supper!

Join us on November 8th for seatings @ 5:30 and 6:30 to enjoy a delicious spaghetti supper with Memorial School friends, staff, and fun!

Tickets are for sale online and with Cindy Dodge in the front office.  Tickets are $8 per person or buy a family pack for $31.  This is always a fun night, and proceeds go to support programs, students, and families at MMES.  

Thank you, in advance, for your support...looking forward to seeing you!

Get Involved at MMES and Help Shape Our Future!

A message from the PTO...

FINAL CALL!  EMAIL ASAP IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THE SCHOOL COUNCIL - DEADLINE TODAY!

Dear Memorial Parents,

 

Our efforts as parents to provide our children with the benefits of a quality education take many paths, from reading together each evening and struggling to explain division to volunteering in the school.  Another avenue open to parents is to serve on our School Council!  

Legislature requires public schools to form a school council with the goal of developing annual school improvement plans.  Members include our administrator and representatives from the staff, community, and parents.  Each term is two years in length.  This year, we will have three parent representative vacancies opening up.  If you are interested in working with Memorial School administration and staff on the decisions and initiatives that shape our children's education, please send your nomination to: mmptopres@gmail.com <mailto:mmptopres@gmail.com>  by Friday October 19th for inclusion in the upcoming School Council Election.  Please include the following: 

*  Your Name 

*  How many children do you have at MMES and in what grades (include future MMES Hornets as well)? 

*  Why do you want to be a part of the School Council?  What experiences, talents, and strengths would you bring to the council?

For more information, please visit the following websites:

MMES School Council Site:  http://www.memorialel.mersd.org/Pages/meme_schcouncil/index

DESE School Council Site:  http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/advisory/schoolcouncils/

Best regards,

Manchester Memorial PTO

A Message from the MERSD Special Education Department

MERSD SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT RIGHTS PRESENTATION

Wednesday, November 14, 6:30-8:30pm

Middle/High School Library

The Federation for Children with Special Needs will join us on November 14 for a comprehensive presentation on parent rights under special education law.  All parents are welcome.  For more information on the Federation, visit www.fcsn.org.

Specialists Blog

Take a moment to pop over to the MMES Specialists Blog:

http://memorialspecialists.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

MMES RtI Update

We are well on our way to implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) model in literacy at MMES this year!  This is a model of instruction that allows teachers to meet the needs of all students through targeted interventions in areas of weakness or strength.  Part of this process is 3x a year (fall/winter/spring) benchmarking where students are assessed to determine individuals who need specific interventions in reading to strengthen areas of weakness and/or enrich areas of strength.

 

Next week will be our Fall Data Collection week.  At some point during the week, all students will complete a 1:1 assessment (http://www.aimsweb.com/) with one of our school personnel who has been throughly trained to administer these one-minute assessments.  Depending on the grade, this activity will take roughly 3-5 minutes total.  Children will be assessed by their classroom teacher or by one of the staff members below.  I thought it would be helpful to give this information to you so that you can give your child a "heads up" so that they know what to expect next week.  The assessments will take place in our reading room and auditorium.  

 

RtI Data Collection Team:

 

-Classroom Teachers

-Mr. Willis

-Dr. Liz

-Mrs. Meinelt

-Mr. Lunney

-Mrs. DiMascio

-Mrs. Flood 

-Mrs. Filias 

 

We will begin with Kindergarten on Monday and work diligently throughout the week until this important reading data is collected from all students.  Once collected, the data will be used by our teachers to tailor their instruction and interventions to meet the individual needs of our students.

 

MMES RtI Update

We are well on our way to implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) model in literacy at MMES this year!  This is a model of instruction that allows teachers to meet the needs of all students through targeted interventions in areas of weakness or strength.  Part of this process is 3x a year (fall/winter/spring) benchmarking where students are assessed to determine individuals who need specific interventions in reading to strengthen areas of weakness and/or enrich areas of strength.

 

Next week will be our Fall Data Collection week.  At some point during the week, all students will complete a 1:1 assessment (http://www.aimsweb.com/) with one of our school personnel who has been throughly trained to administer these one-minute assessments.  Depending on the grade, this activity will take roughly 3-5 minutes total.  Children will be assessed by their classroom teacher or by one of the staff members below.  I thought it would be helpful to give this information to you so that you can give your child a "heads up" so that they know what to expect next week.  The assessments will take place in our reading room and auditorium.  

 

RtI Data Collection Team:

 

-Classroom Teachers

-Mr. Willis

-Dr. Liz

-Mrs. Meinelt

-Mr. Lunney

-Mrs. DiMascio

-Mrs. Flood 

-Mrs. Filias 

 

We will begin with Kindergarten on Monday and work diligently throughout the week until this important reading data is collected from all students.  Once collected, the data will be used by our teachers to tailor their instruction and interventions to meet the individual needs of our students.

 

Scavenger Hunt Winner

....Hadley Levendusky is the winner of the scavenger hunt drawing!  Nice work Hadley!  Stop in at the office so that we can plan a date to order lunch out from your favorite restaurant for you, a friend, and myself!  If you know Hadley...pass the word so that she knows that she won!

Scavenger Hunt Results!

Here are the answers to last night's scavenger hunt at Open House.  It was great to see everyone and re-connect last night!

1.  A hornet mascot is now living at mid-court in our gymnasium.  Thank you to Julia Paccone for painting the mascot and our custodial crew for the beautiful new finish on the floor!

2.  The gym is now a "Manchester-Essex green" color.  It was formerly a light tan color.

3.  answers varied

4.  There are 6 bulletin boards/white boards in the new IRWL room.

5.  The gravel along B-wing is there to help water drain better from the roof so that the hallway does not flood anymore...it's the little things that make us happy here :)

6.  Nemo and Dory

7.  PTO, Aquarium committee, beautification committee, Dad's club, mystery reader, lunch time reader, etc.

8.  answers varied

9.  Honesty - Effort - Acceptance - Respect - Responsibility - Thoughtfulness

10.  9.21.12

And the winner is..... (stay tuned for the next blog update!)

Grade 5 Update for 2012-2013

Our fifth graders are in store for a great year this year!  Mrs. Machain, Mr. McDonough, and Mrs. Tomaiolo have some great ideas in store for our "senior scholars!"  I have begun conversations with the students about the fact that they are the "big brothers" and "big sisters" in our "family" now!  With this comes great responsibility and honor.  They are now our role models for our younger students, and I know this class will be nothing short of amazing!

In addition to their academic work, the grade will have many fun and memorable events to mark the last year of their elementary school experience.  The students will travel to New Hampshire for our annual trip to Camp Merrowvista (June 4-7) and will work as a team to fundraise for the trip throughout the year.  Our annual fifth grade play will take place this winter led by director and coordinator Mrs. Tyler Wood.  The year will be celebrated with our Second Annual "Crossing the Bridge" ceremony at MERMHS on June 19th...mark your calendars!  If you are interested in helping out with any of our grade 5 events, please contact Sue Pick at suepick1@me.com.

Being sensitive to the class size in grade 5 this year (26-26-27), I was able to successfully advocate for retaining the grade-wide teaching assistant model that we had in place last year in grade 4.  Mrs. Flood looped up with the students and has helped the children transition smoothly to grade 5.  She was able to give the grade 5 teachers the "users manual" for each student before the school year even started.  She will work with children in small groups to "artificially" lower the class size during ELA and Mathematics lessons this school year.  This model worked out beautifully last year, and the students really benefited from the extra support throughout the year.

I am really excited for all that the year has to offer for our fifth-grade students...it is going to be a great one!  Here is a sneak peek of the Activity Center at Camp Merrowvista:

New to MMES 2012-2013!

It was great to have an extra-long summer vacation this year as we were able to complete many projects to improve the physical space of MMES!  Our custodial staff worked tirelessly to make all of these projects come together before the start of the new school year!  Some highlights are below:

• The main arrival and dismissal loop was repaved!  This makes for a smoother arrival and dismissal process and keeps all of us (and our cars) safe during this busy time of the day.  We are hoping to have the parking lines painted in the next week or so.
• The gymnasium got a beautiful facelift!  The walls were painted and a hornet mascot was painted at mid-court!  Thank you to Julia Paccone (MERMHS student) for donating her time and talents to MMES to paint the mascot...it looks marvelous!
• As you know, our space is very limited at MMES.  We are doing everything that we can to use all available spaces optimally.  We have converted the boys and girls locker rooms to teaching spaces.  The locker rooms were demolished and rebuilt with new walls, lighting, flooring, and windows.  One side will be our Motor Room for our occupational and physical therapy rooms and the other side will be our Band Room.  Thank you to Peter Verga, Joe Lucido, Steve Hunt, and our entire custodial staff for their hands-on work to make this project happen!
• The exterior drainage in the grade 1 and 2 wing was a problem in the past.  When it rained, water would flood in through the wall and we actually had to mop the floor in that hallway.  A new drainage system was installed to divert water away from the building in that area.  The damaged tiles were replaced in the hallway and we should be nice and dry on rainy days...hooray!
• Through a grant from Governor Patrick's office, MMES was selected as a model school to develop a special education program for students with intensive reading and written language disabilities.  The former band and copy room was renovated with grant funds to house this new program known as the Intensive Reading and Written Language (IRWL) program.  It was equipped with new paint, flooring, storage, furniture, and an interactive board (to be installed).  This is a beautiful space for our students to work with the special education teacher and reading specialist dedicated to the program!
• Thanks to an anonymous donation last year and a generous Spaulding grant, all of our classrooms will be outfitted this year with sound amplification systems for our teachers, assistants, and students to use during lessons.  These systems allow all students in the room feel like they are sitting "front and center" no matter where they are seated in the room.  Thank you to our community for their support!
• All of our classrooms will be outfitted with interactive boards this year so that every student will benefit from this dynamic technology.  The boards are slated to be installed later this week!
• Many of our aging computers have been replaced with brand new ones.  A new laptop cart was deployed for the upper grades this year as well!
• In an effort to arrive at a common PK-5 experience for the students of MMES and EES, a time audit task force was put together to look at the daily schedule and time on learning.  As a result, the district has adjusted the schedules of both schools so that we are all on the same schedule throughout the day.  One notable adjustment is the arrival times for MMES and EES:
• 8:10 AM - Students can arrive to school, and staff is on duty for supervision on the 2 blacktop playgrounds. 
• 8:15 AM - Students line up to head indoors to begin getting organized for the start of the day.    
• 8:25 AM - Students arriving to school after 8:25 are marked tardy.  
• 8:30 AM- Our specialist classes and academic day begins
• MERSD will be implementing the Common Core State Standards this year.  To support teachers as they shift to the new national standards, MERSD will be implementing the following programs:
• Everyday Mathematics - Common Core Edition
• Write Steps - Common Core Writing Program
• MMES will be implementing a model for supporting students of all levels in reading called, Response to Intervention (RtI).  In the first week of October, all students K-5 will be assessed using tools called AIMSWEB and DIBELS.  These quick measures will identify for us students who are at-risk and need support in literacy.  Small-group interventions will be provided to these students in the classroom.  We will re-assess in the winter and spring as well to monitor student progress...more info to come!
• Facilitated Recess:  We have increased our supervision in the cafeteria and at recess so that we have 6 adults supervising recess and 4 adults supervising the students in the lunchroom.  Thanks to the generosity of our PTO, we have purchased a storage shed and materials for games and activities at recess.  Students in grades 1-5 will now use the turf field and large play structure at recess (blacktop if the ground is covered with snow).  A major benefit to using the turf field is that children can safely run, jump, fall, play, etc. on the turf field! One of our new lunch/recess monitors (Mrs. Brennan) will be organizing optional activities at recess for our students.  For those students who are interested, she will organize games and activities for the children to play.  Students still have the option of "free play" at recess, but the organized activities will be available.  For example, last week they could choose to play "pick pocket tag" and today's activity was called "Magic Carpet Ride."  So far, it seems to be a big hit!

That is all for now...I truly hope that your child has had a great start to the school year.  This is going to be the best one that MMES has seen yet!

John J. Willis

Principal

Open House 2012

Memorial School Open House

Please join us for the MMES Open House.  You and your child are invited to come “back to school” to visit our amazing school, meet the teachers, and find out more about what makes our school GREAT!

Who:  All students and their parents in grades PK-5

What: Open House – drop in any time between 6:00 and 6:45 PM

When:  September 13, 2012 from 6:00-7:00 PM

Where:  MMES 43 Lincoln Street

Be sure to check out the following as your child leads you on a tour of our school:

o     Our newly renovated gymnasium including

o   New logo on center court!

o   New band practice room!

o   New OT/PT room!

o     Our new visual arts room (room 13)!

o     New soundfield systems in all classrooms!

o     New interactive whiteboards and response pads in our classrooms

o     Our parent-student-teacher created and maintained vegetable garden learning area (front of building)

o     Our marine aquarium learning area (lobby)

o     Our new IRWL (Intensive Reading and Written Language) classroom (Room 29)